COULD THE EU REPLACE THE US AS THE CURRENT EMPIRE?

Could the EU replace the US as the current empire?



“Could the EU replace the US as the current empire (super power)?”

Introduction

This dissertation aims to discuss whether the EU could replace the U.S as the existing super power (here the term is interchangeably used synonymous to the concept of empire in history), and whether the status of the U.S occupying the most favourable position in the world hierarchy could be challenged. In the history the term empires served the same purpose, and strived to achieve domination. But usually the ways were coercive and other 'soft' techniques at diplomatic levels were rarely employed (Mauro 2005:681).

However, it is correct to say that the previous empires were mainly interested in the exploitation side as it was for their own personal gain. In today's' world the super powers aim to achieve the same level of control but the channels to achieve this goal have been drastically transformed (Maddison 2003:89).

The U.S is thought of being the major player in world politics and holds a significant status and power, as evident by its armed forces. (Kinzer 2006:37)The current military strength has not been acquired over the time and their expanding military base and sphere is changing the dynamics in world politics.

The US has established its control over 191 governments which are members of the United Nations. The conquest, occupation and/or otherwise supervision of these various regions of the World are supported by an integrated network of military bases and installations which covers the entire Planet (Continents, Oceans and Outer Space).

All this explain the operations of extensive Empire, the exact dimensions of which are notusually easy to specify. The US Military has bases in 63 countries. Brand new military bases have been built since September 11, 2001 in seven countries. In total, there are 255,065 US military personnel deployed worldwide (Porta Rafael et.al2009:222).

These facilities include a total of 845,441 different buildings and equipments. The underlying land surface is of the order of 30 million acres. According to analysts, who examined 2005 official Pentagon data, the US is thought to own a total of 737 bases in foreign lands. Adding to the bases inside U.S. territory, the total land area occupied by US military bases domestically within the US and internationally is of the order of 2,202,735 hectares, which makes the Pentagon one of the largest landowners worldwide(Porta Rafael et.al2009:224).

Nevertheless, Europe on the other hand has successfully constructed a new form of a soft empire - the European Union (EU). The EU is a strong contender for world domination as a single entity. This is only an extension for continuous efforts to gain world domination that has existed over the ages in the world politics.

This study would aim to answer who could rightly claim the mantle of being the super power in the world in the short-term. Here the distinction between soft and hard power needs to be established. Soft power is attractive while the latter operates on coercive tactics (Kinzer ...